Feeling thirsty? Yes, you could reach for a glass of water, but you can also bite into a juicy piece of fruit to help get your hydration fix. Consuming fruit can be a sweet way to boost nutrition and help contribute to your body’s overall fluid needs.
After all, making sure you stay hydrated is good for your body. We all know that we need to stay hydrated for our health overall. During warmer months of the year, it’s even that much more important, since it’s so hot and easy to become dehydrated.
Staying hydrated helps regulate your body temperature, prevents developing infections, keeps your joints lubricated, allows nutrients to get delivered to your cells, and improves your sleep and mood. So there are a number of reasons why you’ll want to eat hydrating fruit.
Fruits also come with other hydrating perks. The naturally occurring electrolytes found in some fruits, like potassium, may help usher water into your body’s cells faster. About 20 percent of your overall water intake comes from the foods you eat, including fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. The other 80 percent comes from what you drink.
Watermelon Quenches Your Thirst and Is Jam-Packed With Potassium:
It’s no surprise that watermelon is hydrating — heck, the word “water” is even in the name! Watermelon is 92 percent water, so it is super hydrating!
Additionally, it’s one of those fruits that doesn’t have as much fiber as other fruits — so it can be a source of quick energy, too. One medium-sized slice of watermelon contains 1.14 grams (g) of fiber for 4.22 percent of your daily value (DV).
Watermelon also comes bursting with vitamin C — 23.2 milligrams (mg) per medium slice, which is 26 percent your DV, making it an excellent source. Plus, watermelon is a source of vitamin A, with 80 micrograms (mcg) in each medium slice, for 9 percent of your DV, as well as 320 mg of potassium, which totals 7 percent of your DV.
Vitamin A is crucial for eye and skin health, while vitamin C helps with the immune system and nerve function. Meanwhile, potassium lowers blood pressure and also helps your nerves function properly.
And potassium has more perks: Potassium has been shown to play a role in helping to maintain water balance as well as helping to offset muscle cramping. Enjoy a watermelon slice as-is, or add cubed watermelon to feta cheese and fresh mint as a side dish for a refreshing treat.
Related article: 10 Tasty Keto-Friendly Vegetables That Are Incredibly Low-Carb
Strawberries Are Both Hydration and Vitamin C Superstars:
Berry lovers, rejoice! Strawberries come brimming with water — 92 percent — as well as other nutrients, making them the perfect fruit to snack on or add to your smoothie.
A cup of halved strawberries has over 3 g of fiber, giving you about 11 percent of your DV, which makes it a good source. And that’s good news for you because fiber helps keep your hunger and blood sugar under control, and may even reduce the risk of developing conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and constipation.
Strawberries are also vitamin C stars — 1 cup has a whopping 89.4 mg of the vitamin, which is 99 percent of your DV, making them, obviously, an excellent source. These hydrating berries also provide heart health perks, too — eating 1 cup daily may lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Of course, you can get benefits without eating a few cups of strawberries! Enjoy them raw — they’re delicious as is — or add them to salads or your a.m. meal. One of my favorite ways to add fruit to a meal is adding strawberries to yogurt and granola for a parfait.
Related article: 13 Fruits to Eat for Weight Loss
Grapefruit Is Refreshing and Impressively Low-Calorie:
Oranges often steal the show when it comes to “most popular” citrus fruits, but grapefruit comes packed with even more water. (They’re 91 percent water, to be exact.)
In addition, a small grapefruit has 2.2 g of fiber, which is about 8 percent of your DV. And like other citrus fruits in the family, you’re getting plenty of vitamin C — you score about 69 mg of the vitamin, which is 76 percent your DV, making it an excellent source.
Grapefruit is also touted as a low-calorie fruit that fills you up thanks to its fiber. One small grapefruit has a mere 64 calories. Past research has even shown that eating grapefruit, along with other fruits like blueberries, grapes, and apples, may lower your odds of developing type 2 diabetes.
Other past research found that though eating one-half a grapefruit daily with meals for six weeks didn’t necessarily help with weight loss, but doing so did improve the blood pressure of overweight adults. Like many other fruits, you also score potassium — a small grapefruit has 278 mg of potassium, which is about 6 percent of your DV.
Consider serving yourself up a grapefruit after exercising. In addition to its water content, the naturally occurring sugars and electrolytes found in citrus fruits make them a great post-workout recovery snack, when paired with a source of protein.
Related article: 10 The Most Alkaline Foods That Help Balance Body pH
Cantaloupe Comes Loaded With Beta-Carotene and H2O:
While watermelon gets much of the melon hydration hype, cantaloupe’s water content is nothing to take for granted.
Not only will cantaloupe hydrate you on a hot day (or a cold day, for that matter) due to its 90 percent water content — you’ll also score other impressive nutrients with each slice.
For example, one large wedge of cantaloupe contains 37.4 mg of vitamin C, which is almost 42 percent of your DV, making it an excellent source. You’ll also get 1 g of fiber (almost 4 percent of your DV) with each large wedge — and hey, maybe it’s an excuse to have more than one slice.
Cantaloupe also delivers on vitamin A — with each large slice you score 172 mcg of the vitamin, which is 19 percent of your DV, making it a good source. You’re also getting an impressive amount of beta-carotene — 2060 mcg. Beta-carotene is what gives cantaloupe its orange hue, and is a “provitamin” which means your body uses it to make vitamin A.
Other than eating cantaloupe by the slice, try adding cubes to a salad, serve it as an appetizer along with prosciutto, or even throw some slices into your glass of sparkling water to naturally sweeten it up.
Related article: 7 Great Ways To Incorporate Veggies Into Your Diet To Maintain Health And Weight
Peaches, a Juicy Stone Fruit, Pack Way More Than Only Water:
Stone fruit, such as peaches and plums, are in-season right now and have a water content of almost 90 percent, making them a sweet way to stay hydrated.
One medium peach contains 10 mg of vitamin C, which is 11 percent of your DV, making it a good source, as well as 24 mcg of vitamin A, which gives you a decent 3 percent of your DV. Plus, you also score 2.25 g of fiber in each medium peach, which is 8 percent of your DV.
Add fresh peaches to a salad with mozzarella.
Related article: Are There Foods That Can Stop Me Being Hungry? 9 Top Foods Are Listed Right Here
Raspberries Are Equal Parts Hydrating and Fiber-Filled:
Along with providing major hydration perks, these little red gems come loaded with other good-for-you bonuses.
In addition to being 87 percent water, raspberries are fiber phenoms — 1 cup provides a whopping 8 g of fiber, which is almost 30 percent of your DV, making them an excellent source. The berries also deliver big on vitamin C — in each cup you get 32 mg, which is about 36 percent of your DV, making them another excellent source.
You also score ample antioxidants with raspberries; raspberries are one of the top fruit sources of these disease-fighting compounds. Antioxidants offer protection against free radicals, which are molecules that your body creates when it’s exposed to harmful things like tobacco smoke or radiation, and increase the risk for chronic diseases.
Raspberries also give you 0.82 mg of manganese, too. That might not seem like a lot, but it’s about 36 percent of your DV, making them an excellent source. Manganese helps protect your cells from getting damaged and keeps your bones strong, helps your immune system, and aids in the process of blood clotting.
While you can always eat raspberries on their own, try throwing some in your cereal, yogurt, or oatmeal, or making a raspberry-filled (healthy!) dessert.
Related article: 9 Healthy Foods To Include In Your Diet To Eliminate Abdominal Fat
Pineapple Is a Sweet Way to Eat Your Water:
Time to pack your shopping cart with pineapple. Not only do they provide natural sweetness and some serious hydration perks — they contain 87 percent water — they come with additional sizable health benefits, as well.
You’ll score 79 mg of vitamin C with 1 cup of pineapple chunks, which covers almost 88 percent of your DV, making it an excellent source. Pineapple also gives you 2.3 g of fiber, which is more than 8 percent of your DV.
And the perks of pineapple continue: Pineapple also contains an enzyme called bromelain, which helps break down proteins and aid indigestion. Pineapple has been used for hundreds of years in Central and South America for easing indigestion, and research is currently exploring whether it may also help improve inflammation, swelling, and sinusitis.
Other than eating a delicious slice of pineapple as-is, try throwing pineapple and mango into a smoothie with Greek yogurt or avocado.
Related article: 3 Drinks You Should Include In Your Diet To Help Weight Loss
Cranberries Are Surprisingly Thirst-Quenching and Bursting With Fiber:
You may think of cranberries as strictly a Thanksgiving food — and a measly side dish, no less — but it might be worth eating more of these tiny red fruits to reap their hydration and health perks. Raw cranberries not only contain 87 percent water (hello hydration), they pack 14 mg of vitamin C per cup, which is about 16 percent of your DV, making them a good source.
You also score ample fiber with cranberries — one cup gives you 3.6 g, notes the USDA, which is about 13 percent your DV, making them a good source.
If you think cranberries may be too bitter for your taste buds to eat by the handful, consider slicing them up and adding them to your next grain bowl or salad, or use them as a garnish on your next meat or fish dish.
Related article: Eggs Are A Fantastic Protein-Packed Food & Here Are 6 Egg Recipes To Try
Oranges Are Known for Vitamin C, But They’re Ultra-Hydrators, Too:
If you ever played soccer as a child, there was nothing more refreshing than biting into a few orange slices at half-time.
Not only will eating oranges help quench your thirst with 87 percent water, but they offer nutrients like vitamin C, potassium, and antioxidants, says Kimberlain.
Take vitamin C, which oranges are renowned for containing. One medium orange contains about 70 mg of the vitamin, which is almost 78 percent of your DV, making it (of course) an excellent source. Not only that, a medium orange has 237 mg of potassium, which is 5 percent of your DV.
Picking a whole fruit, not the liquid, form, is key, though. This way you get that nutritious fiber oranges boast. For a little perspective, a 4-ounce cup of 100 percent OJ gives you a mere 0.4 g of fiber. On the other hand, a medium orange has over 3 g of fiber, which is 11 percent of your DV, making it a good source.
To take advantage of oranges hydrating power, add slices to your teriyaki chicken dinner, or try a nutrient-packed Lentil Salad with Oranges.
Related article: The 10 Best And Delicious Snacks for Weight Loss
Apricots Have Plenty of H2O and Antioxidants:
Tangy and tart, apricots — another stone fruit — can hit the spot when it comes to keeping you hydrated, with 86 percent water. They also deliver when it comes to nutrition.
One small apricot packs a mere 17 calories, and provides almost 1 g of fiber, for almost 3 percent of your DV. A small apricot also gives you vitamin A — 34 mcg, which is about 4 percent of your DV, as well as 383 mcg of beta-carotene.
Plus, just one apricot gives you 3.5 mg of vitamin C, which is 4 percent of your DV (and if you have two — which is easy to do — you double that). Past research has also shown apricots come jam-packed with antioxidants, as well.
Bite into a juicy apricot as a snack. Or when cooking with apricots, you can swap them in whenever a recipe calls for peaches. You can also add apricots to savory dishes (like a Moroccan tagine).
The post Drinking Water Is Critical, But Why Not Eat Your H2O? Here’s 10 Top Fruits appeared first on GymGuider.com.
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